This invention relates to the field of automated information storage and retrieval, and provides an integrated programming environment which enables data structures to be easily built, maintained, and used.
There are many disadvantages associated with conventional database management systems. Data values are typically limited in size by the size of arrays and storage locations. If a data value is too large, it may be truncated; if it is too small, space is wasted. Increasing the size of data values, or adding data values to a data record, within a large program, can be a major project.
Database management systems are programmed with particular hardware in mind, and many hardware-related decisions must be made in the definition of data. One of the purposes of the present invention is to reduce this hardware-dependence.
In the present invention, data are stored in a manner which does not depend on the particular hardware implementation. The system of the present invention does require a relatively few hardware dependent modules (such as a program to send information to and from a monitor), but in its underlying structure, it is substantially machine-independent. Data can be added and removed, without regard to the size of individual data fields. Thus, the present invention eliminates the need for much of the program maintenance that is needed with conventional programs.
The present invention also helps the user in designing and coding a large database management system. With the integrated environment of the invention, the user can see the structure of data and procedure, and can, in effect, program in a very high-level language. By nature, the language of the present invention tends to be self-documenting, making it easier to maintain and debug programs written with the present invention. Thus, the invention substantially reduces the costs and time required for developing and maintaining large programs.